Bad Medicine

Doctors Doing Harm Since Hippocrates

David Wootton

A bold and challenging reassessment of medical history from its origins to the present

Shows just how deeply entrenched bad medical practice has been throughout history--right up to modern times

Includes a new epilogue by the author in response to critics of the highly acclaimed but controversial hardback edition

Bad Medicine

Doctors Doing Harm Since Hippocrates

David Wootton

Description

Just how much good has medicine done over the years? And how much damage does it continue to do?

The history of medicine begins with Hippocrates in the fifth century BC. Yet until the invention of antibiotics in the 1930s doctors, in general, did their patients more harm than good.

In this fascinating new look at the history of medicine, David Wootton argues that for more than 2300 years doctors have relied on their patients' misplaced faith in their ability to cure. Over and over again major discoveries which could save lives were met with professional resistance. And this is not just a phenomenon of the distant past. The first patient effectively treated with penicillin was in the 1880s; the second not until the 1940s. There was overwhelming evidence that smoking caused lung cancer in the 1950s; but it took thirty years for doctors to accept the claim that smoking was addictive. As Wootton graphically illustrates, throughout history and right up to the present, bad medical practice has often been deeply entrenched and stubbornly resistant to evidence.

This is a bold and challenging book--and the first general history of medicine to acknowledge the frequency with which doctors do harm.

Bad Medicine

Doctors Doing Harm Since Hippocrates

David Wootton

Table of Contents

Introduction: Bad Medicine/Better Medicine Part I: The Hippocratic Tradition 1. Hippocrates and Galen2. Ancient Anatomy3. The Canon4. The SensesConclusion to Part I: The Placebo Effect Part II: Revolution Postponed 5. Vesalius and Dissection6. Harvey and Vivisection7. The Invisible WorldConclusion to Part II: Trust Not the Physician Part III: Modern Medicine 8. Counting9. Birth of the Clinic10. The Laboratory11. John Snow and Colera12. Puerperal Fever13. Joseph Lister and Antiseptic Surgery14. Alexander Fleming and PenicillinConclusion to Part III: Progress Delayed Part Four: After Contagion 15. Doll, Bradford Hill, and Lung Cancer16. Death DeferredConclusionEpilogue: in response to the criticsFurther ReadingIndex

Bad Medicine

Doctors Doing Harm Since Hippocrates

David Wootton

Author Information

David Wootton is Anniversay Professor of History at the University of York. He has published widely in early modern intellectual history, particularly on the history of political thought, and is a regular reviewer for the London Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement.